It.
Let's talk about it.
Someone once wrote, "What does IT refer to here?" on a MS of mine. This has been seriously bugging me ever since. What the heck did IT refer to in that sentence?
When we speak, we start all kinds of sentences with IT without leading them in properly.
So, naturally when we write - we do the same thing.
"I looked at the fence. It was very tall." OK. IT refers to the fence.
"It was all I could do not to climb that fence, tall as it was." Not OK. The IT here has no meaning. (the first it, not the second one.)
I'd say check your MS over for this oddity. What I did on my latest was a search for . It (that's period, space, It, space) That showed me each time I'd started a sentence with IT. Most of them needed to be reworded and replaced because IT referred to nothing!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Little Writing Tip 2 - Don't jump the gun
This morning I finished a 5000 word story. I started it Monday morning.
I totally want to send it to everyone I know and ask them what they think. After all, it's absolutely perfect right now. And that's what our first drafts are, perfect, because before they see another pair of eyes, (including your own upon first edit) the story is exactly as you created it to be.
However, as we know, once you review your story, it loses some luster. Maybe there's a sentence or two you can't believe you yourself wrote. (Like that last one)
Then you send it to a trusted reader and they point out all kinds of other mistakes. Like that time you wrote the word light three times in three sentences. (True story)
So, I write this blog in an effort to suggest you don't send a story out shortly after you finish it. In fact, don't even edit the story shortly after you finish it. Give it some distance. The longer the story, the greater the distance. Orson Scott Card says a novel should sit unread for one year to give it proper distance.
My short story? Probably a week. It's killing me to wait as I am most excited about it right this minute, but I know that's best.
Now you do to.
I totally want to send it to everyone I know and ask them what they think. After all, it's absolutely perfect right now. And that's what our first drafts are, perfect, because before they see another pair of eyes, (including your own upon first edit) the story is exactly as you created it to be.
However, as we know, once you review your story, it loses some luster. Maybe there's a sentence or two you can't believe you yourself wrote. (Like that last one)
Then you send it to a trusted reader and they point out all kinds of other mistakes. Like that time you wrote the word light three times in three sentences. (True story)
So, I write this blog in an effort to suggest you don't send a story out shortly after you finish it. In fact, don't even edit the story shortly after you finish it. Give it some distance. The longer the story, the greater the distance. Orson Scott Card says a novel should sit unread for one year to give it proper distance.
My short story? Probably a week. It's killing me to wait as I am most excited about it right this minute, but I know that's best.
Now you do to.
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